Manger has said that he favors using the drug fund money for drug treatment, but only after the department's Special Investigations Division and drug enforcement efforts are funded.

The drug court is a program under the Montgomery County Circuit Court that offers comprehensive treatment programs for adult and youth offenders with serious drug- and alcohol-dependency problems.

Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park said Tuesday that treating drug users for addictions will create less of a demand for drugs  putting dealers out of business and helping to keep police officers and residents safe from drug-related crime.

The drug fund has been in the spotlight since September, when council members questioned whether Leggett legally could use the money to help pay for a police helicopter program, as he has proposed.

Police say that $35,000 of the drug fund already has been spent on the helicopter program in the current fiscal year, and officials have not announced any plans to halt the program.

The drug fund contains money that is forfeited to the county under state law as drug-related contraband and includes cash and the proceeds of the sale of real and personal property seized during drug enforcement actions.

Current law restricts the use of the funds to expenses related to narcotics enforcement.

Drug fund revenue comes from county and federal sources, and there are restrictions on how some of it can be spent.

The entire fund would not be available for county programs, such as drug court, police say. The remainder is used for narcotics enforcement efforts.

There has been ample money in the drug fund for at least the past several years to contribute some money to drug court and treatment efforts, Leventhal said.

Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown called Trachtenberg's bill a "good step forward," but said it was important for the council to be made aware of other revenue sources.

The council was largely unaware of the drug fund balance or its purpose because of a lack of required reporting on the part of the police department.

Officials have said there will be more regular reporting moving forward.